By the end of January, Australians should have a clearer picture of whether they can expect interest rate hikes in 2026.

Quarterly inflation data, due to be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on January 28, will confirm or allay Reserve Bank fears that upward price pressures are entrenched in the economy.

Minutes from the RBA’s last rates-setting meeting, released just before Christmas, reflected the central bank board’s anxiety that inflationary pressures were broadening into more permanent........

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